Oxford Genetics Ltd, the Oxford based mammalian synthetic biology company, is pleased to confirm the appointment of three new board directors to strengthen its position as a market leader in DNA design, protein expression, and virus and cell line engineering.
The additions include Antitope founder Dr Matt Baker (non-executive director, NED), Ex-Sigma-Aldrich Dr Paul Brooks (commercial director), and Science Warehouse Founder Dr David Hames (non-executive chairman).
These new members complement the existing board comprised of founding scientist’s Dr Ryan Cawood (CEO) and Oxford Professor Leonard Seymour (NED), alongside Dr Mark Payton (NED, and CEO of Mercia Technologies PLC).
These strategic appointments align with the company’s aim to revolutionise the design of DNA and protein expression systems for the manufacture of biological drugs using cells and viruses.
The appointments expand the board to six PhD level experts in commercial biotech, providing a strong foundation on which to expand the thriving synthetic biology business.
Mark Payton from Mercia Technologies PLC, an investor in Oxford Genetics, said:
“Mercia are pleased to be welcoming these new strategic additions to the business, our ambitions have always been to make Oxford Genetics a market leading biotech, and the high quality of these new appointments reflect our ambitions for continued rapid growth”
CEO and founder, Dr Ryan Cawood said:
“We’re operating in a really exciting space, the markets for cell and gene therapy, gene editing, and cell line development for bio-production are expanding incredibly rapidly, with some amazing clinical progress in recent years, these appointments will help us to continue to provide industry leading solutions to our commercial partners and provide additional strategic support for the business “
The new appointments to the board are the first in 2 years, and follow an extensive period of intense biomedical R&D at the company. The rapid and effective commercialisation of these innovations is where these new board members can really add value.
“The team are some of the brightest scientists I’ve ever worked with, but it’s now time to unveil the hood and let world know what they’ve been up to” said new non-executive chairman, Dr David Hames.
Dr Paul Brooks, the newly appointed Commercial Director, said:
“I’ve been watching Oxford Genetics emerge as a premier synthetic biology company in the last few years and I am thrilled to be joining to help the team solve some of the biggest problems the pharmaceutical industry faces in developing gene and cellular therapeutics”
Oxford Genetics started in 2011, initially by designing standardised pieces of DNA, almost like blocks of Lego, to try and reduce the variability scientists were observing in their experiments and bioproduction processes.
The company has since gone on to develop algorithms and robotic systems for building, testing and validating how DNA works in cells, allowing the business to provide much valued services for the biopharmaceutical industry.